1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plug-in system for automatically plugging a CPU (Central Processing Unit) board or similar processor system electronics board into a mother board or back plane.
2. Description of the Background Art
An apparatus of the type using a compact PCI (Peripheral Components Interconnect) bus or similar high-availability bus system is known and includes a CPU board having a bus control capability. The CPU board of this type of apparatus must be one exclusively designed for a high-availability system. More specifically, a switchover function essential with a high-availability system is generally implemented by the electrical disconnection of a CPU board from a bus. It has therefore been customary to mount a circuit for such electrical disconnection on a CPU board exclusive for a high-availability system. This has heretofore obstructed the application of general-purpose CPU boards lacking high availability to high-availability systems due to no provision of such a disconnecting circuit.
To electrically disconnect the CPU board from the bus, the CPU board may be physically pulled out. However, a conventional plug-in mechanism relies on a manual lever in connecting or disconnecting the CPU board and therefore cannot perform automatic connection and disconnection.
A problem with the exclusive CPU boards for high-availability applications and loaded with the disconnecting circuit is that they are not produced on a quantity basis and are therefore more expensive than a general-purpose CPU board. Another problem is that the performance of the exclusive CPU board is generally poor against the cost because latest devices and technologies are, in many cases, applied thereto later than to a general-purpose CPU board.
Although general-purpose CPU boards are less expensive than the exclusive CPU boards, they cannot be directly applied to a high-availability system due to the lack of the disconnecting circuit.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a circuit board plug-in system capable of automatically interrupting electrical connection between a circuit board and a mother board or back plane, there by allowing a general-purpose circuit board to be applied to a high-availability system.
A circuit board plug-in system in accordance with the present invention includes a frame, a mother board mounted on the frame and including a mother board connector, and a circuit board including a circuit board connector capable of mating with the mother board connector. Guide rails are mounted on the frame, and each is formed with a channel for the insertion of the circuit board. An actuator moves, under the control of a plug-in control section, the circuit board inserted into the guide rails to thereby selectively connect or disconnect the circuit board connector to or from the mother board connector. The actuator is arranged partly on the circuit board and partly on the guide rails. The plug-in control section is mounted on the frame.